How online recruitment can help fix the engineering skills shortage

Gordon Brown said in last weekís budget that as a consequence of record levels of employment there were some 650,000 vacancies currently in the UK.

This serious skills shortage, which economists warn could lead to wage inflation and lower rates of productivity, has been strongly felt in Britainís engineering sector for some years now as increasing numbers of young people have favoured arts-based subjects over science and maths at school and university.

Managing director of niche online recruitment network JobsGroup.net Mark Hepworth comments, As young people are not pursuing careers in engineering in sufficient numbers some of our clients have had a real problem attracting suitable candidates.

Over the last five years JobsGroup.net has launched a series of niche online recruitment sites to help meet the urgent demand for specialist skilled labour, including the award-winning www.JustEngineers.net, www.JustRail.net, www.Just4Aviation.net and www.JustConstruction.net. The numbers of jobs available on www.JustEngineers.net speaks volumes about the skills shortage there are nearly 8,000 engineering related vacancies this week alone.

Mark Hepworth says, Online recruitment is beneficial to the industry because it can add speed and efficiency to the recruitment process. Niche recruitment sites like www.JustEngineers.net are especially important because the most in-demand job seekers can be found in one place, which greatly increases the likelihood that companies can find the right people for right jobs when they need them.

The skills shortage is affecting the entire engineering industry, including some of the most well known and prestigious occupations. JobsGroup.net figures show that Quantity Surveyors (at 699 vacancies) are the most in demand, with Project Managers (665), Civil Engineers (438), Site Managers (429) and Structural Engineers (311) close behind. The industries most heavily affected include the ones we rely on most of all - rail, aviation and construction, with firms in the South East excluding London (13,705 vacancies), South West (9,566), London (7,504), West Midlands (5,147) and North West (3,458) respectively finding attracting candidates particularly difficult.

A consequence of the skills shortage is that candidates that do have the desired qualifications and experience have never been more in demand. Employment rates six months after graduation in 2003 for engineering and building management graduates were much higher than the average for all first degree disciplines - 72.4% in employment, 10.1% working and studying, and just 3.5% unemployed according to the AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2004.

Mark Hepworth says itís not only about empowering the companies looking for staff, itís also important to help job seekers reach their potential employers, We have over 58,238 registered job seekers at www.JustEngineers.net and we are committed to helping them find their ideal job by sending email alerts when jobs that match their profile come up and giving them access to tools such as online application tracking and career advice. Itís a policy that seems to work - JobsGroup.net was recently ranked number one online recruitment site for placements, according to a report by Online Recruitment Magazine (Onrec).